"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!" This quote, a famous Cold War presidential
challenge, helped define the courageousness of Ronald Reagan's presidency. Throughout the
entirety of his career, Reagan faced multiple hard decisions and difficult choices. He was
involved with extremely consequential foreign affairs in which he went against much opposition
and still prevailed by ending the Cold War and drastically dismantling Soviet communism.
By the time Ronald Reagan stepped into office in 1980, the Soviet Union had become a
dangerous world power.1 The Soviet Union exalted communism and forced it over
all the people it controlled along with other small countries in Europe and Asia. The Soviet
Union wished that all countries would fall and therefore, they could become leader of worldwide
communism.2 After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States engaged themselves in

a war known as the Cold War. During this time, the two countries raced against each other to see

who could build up a greater and more dangerous stock of nuclear weaponry. Both of the

countries had the ability to annihilate the entire world with the strength and amount of their own

nuclear bombs. At one point, Ronald Reagan met with the director of the North American Air

Defense Command (NORAD), James Hill, and discussed the advancement of the American

missiles and bombs. James Hill frankly said that we could hit any point in the Soviet Union

exactly but if they Soviets were to launch a missile we could only track it and America "couldn't stop it".3
One of Ronald Reagan's ultimate goals as president was to eliminate the Soviet Union
and end the Cold War. President Reagan pioneered the absolute destruction of the Soviet Union
on many different occasions. While meeting with Richard V. Allen, Reagan's future National
Security Advisor, Reagan told him that his foreign policy about the Soviet Union was
perspicuous and simple, "we win and they lose". Reagan also wrote an essay during
October, 1975, about allowing the Soviet system to collapse, but having America ready to step in
and offer aid to the newly freed people.4 In 1973, Ronald Reagan told a group of evangelical

preachers and ministers that the Soviet Union was "the focus of evil in this modern world" and

continued to say they were leading an "evil empire".5 Within ten days of his career as

president, he declared the Kremlin, the complex that served important and high ranking Soviet

Union officials, as the ultimate promotion powerhouse for world-wide communism. Ronald

Reagan exhibited courage and leadership skills by stating what he believed should happen to the

Soviet Union. He did not compromise, nor let anyone convince him to back down on his

standards or beliefs. Ronald Reagan had the intrepidity to stand up and essentially attack the

Soviet Union, which could have been catastrophic as they had control of a plethora of missiles

and bombs that could have destroyed the entire continent of North America. Despite his strong

feelings toward the Soviets and communism, Reagan led the Americans with an equable attitude

and adverting discretion.6
Throughout Ronald Reagan's career as president, he called out and took action against the
Soviet Union. He did not negotiate nor accommodate the needs of the Soviet Union, which
helped him conquer the increasing intensity of the Cold War. Because of his courageous and
brave acts and decisions, Ronald Reagan represented America and allowed it to prosper and lead
other countries.